FINALLY, A MUSEUM WHERE YOU CAN TOUCH ANYTHING YOU WANT!
30 JANUARY 2024
Touch, Play, Explore and Learn
Whitestone City is a museum in Oamaru, New Zealand, within the Victorian precinct. However, it's not your typical DO NOT TOUCH OR ELSE type of museum because here, you can touch, play, explore and learn about Oamaru's Victorian past with everything inside the building - how cool is that?
Oamaru is one of the best places in New Zealand to learn about the Victorian times and many of the original limestone Victorian buildings are still here and kept in good condition. There is even a Victorian Fete held in Oamaru each year, where people dress up, ride penny farthings down the street and get involved in all things Victorian.
When we arrived at Whitestone City, the place was empty which meant we got to enjoy the whole place to ourselves and didn't have to wait our turn for anything. This is a huge reason we love travelling during winter and the rest of the off-peak season, because we often have places to ourselves, especially during the week. We were greeted by two cherry ladies dressed up, who told us that entry is by donation and that we pay at the end of our visit, based on what we feel like it was worth - we thought this was a great idea as it means lots of families or travellers who are on a budget, can enjoy the place instead of skipping it because of the cost.
Once we got inside, Sienna ran straight to a rocking horse, while Bella looked at a range of toys on a table, which are in fact, Victorian (shock horror). There was a wooden train set, a tea set, horseshoe ring toss and there were some stacking blocks that weren't Victorian, but Sienna had a lot of fun playing with them. We enjoyed playing a game of croquet on the grass turf before moving onto the next area.
One of the staff members was VERY enthusiastic about the toilets and told us we needed to take a look, so we did. I'm not too sure what all the fuss was about but I said "very nice" anyway!
Next to the toys were some beautiful and original Victorian dresses and hats on display. One of the ladies told us that the colours had faded so much on them, that it was surprising to know the grey ones used to be a vibrant purple back in the day.
There was also a theatre with lots of seating, where you can watch a movie about the Victorian past in Oamaru but unfortunately the light was pouring in from the windows and onto the screen, so it wasn't a good time of day to watch it. I don't think we would have been there for long anyway as there were too many toys for the kids to play with instead.
Oamaru is one of the best places in New Zealand to learn about the Victorian times and many of the original limestone Victorian buildings are still here and kept in good condition. There is even a Victorian Fete held in Oamaru each year, where people dress up, ride penny farthings down the street and get involved in all things Victorian.
When we arrived at Whitestone City, the place was empty which meant we got to enjoy the whole place to ourselves and didn't have to wait our turn for anything. This is a huge reason we love travelling during winter and the rest of the off-peak season, because we often have places to ourselves, especially during the week. We were greeted by two cherry ladies dressed up, who told us that entry is by donation and that we pay at the end of our visit, based on what we feel like it was worth - we thought this was a great idea as it means lots of families or travellers who are on a budget, can enjoy the place instead of skipping it because of the cost.
Once we got inside, Sienna ran straight to a rocking horse, while Bella looked at a range of toys on a table, which are in fact, Victorian (shock horror). There was a wooden train set, a tea set, horseshoe ring toss and there were some stacking blocks that weren't Victorian, but Sienna had a lot of fun playing with them. We enjoyed playing a game of croquet on the grass turf before moving onto the next area.
One of the staff members was VERY enthusiastic about the toilets and told us we needed to take a look, so we did. I'm not too sure what all the fuss was about but I said "very nice" anyway!
Next to the toys were some beautiful and original Victorian dresses and hats on display. One of the ladies told us that the colours had faded so much on them, that it was surprising to know the grey ones used to be a vibrant purple back in the day.
There was also a theatre with lots of seating, where you can watch a movie about the Victorian past in Oamaru but unfortunately the light was pouring in from the windows and onto the screen, so it wasn't a good time of day to watch it. I don't think we would have been there for long anyway as there were too many toys for the kids to play with instead.
One Of A Kind Carousel
I think that this penny farthing carousel has got to be one of a kind! We weren't expecting to see something like this and we definitely said yes to hoping on and going for a ride. We were all given hats to wear then given a leg up onto our own penny farthing (there is no gracious way of getting up on one of those!) and after a family picture (say cheeeeeese!) we were on our way. The ride was very slow but this didn't bother us, the experience of it was heaps of fun and it's always worth doing these things with the girls to see a smile on their faces, plus we're all about the weird and wonderful! There were pedals on the bikes and we used them, but they didn't make us go any faster.
There was actually a penny farthing on the street, down from the entrance to Whitestone City, which we got to sit on a pedal. It was so random just sitting there and was another cool thing to do while in Oamaru.
Beside the carousel was a horse (which was very cleverly made from driftwood) and wagon, which Lath and the girls got dressed up to go on - Lath was some sort of cowboy and the girls were delicate ladies holding onto their shawls in the wagon. We just couldn't get over HOW MUCH STUFF there is to play and interact with at Whitestone City! It's such a valuable place for learning about the Victorian history in Oamaru and you learn so much here because you're actually allowed to touch and play with everything (the best way to learn!).
There was actually a penny farthing on the street, down from the entrance to Whitestone City, which we got to sit on a pedal. It was so random just sitting there and was another cool thing to do while in Oamaru.
Beside the carousel was a horse (which was very cleverly made from driftwood) and wagon, which Lath and the girls got dressed up to go on - Lath was some sort of cowboy and the girls were delicate ladies holding onto their shawls in the wagon. We just couldn't get over HOW MUCH STUFF there is to play and interact with at Whitestone City! It's such a valuable place for learning about the Victorian history in Oamaru and you learn so much here because you're actually allowed to touch and play with everything (the best way to learn!).
Fancy A Haircut, Sir?
I think my favourite part of Whitestone City is 'Heritage Street', which has a General Stone, barber shop, pharmacy and a printing shop. There are so many trinkets and artifacts in each store, that it really is like stepping back into the Victorian Era. It really did feel like a real street, with a 'cobblestone' path and tram lines running through, as well as the beautifully displayed storefronts. We were able to go inside each store (except the printing store) and look around, pick up items and even sit on the barber chair and pretend to get a haircut.
This 'street' was lots of fun and oh to be a kid in here pretending to play shops!! I mean, I would have loved it as a kid but Arabella and Sienna didn't seem to want to spend so much time here looking. I think as a kid, if the items have zero significance or don't make sense, then it's not interesting, especially now days when everything is so bright, sparkly and colourful! Also at the ages they are (they were 9 and 5 at the time), historic items aren't always very interesting which is fair enough.
Fun fact: It was named the Victorian Era when Queen Victoria became queen in 1837 and until she died in 1901, then it became the Edwardian Era, named after King Edward VII.
This 'street' was lots of fun and oh to be a kid in here pretending to play shops!! I mean, I would have loved it as a kid but Arabella and Sienna didn't seem to want to spend so much time here looking. I think as a kid, if the items have zero significance or don't make sense, then it's not interesting, especially now days when everything is so bright, sparkly and colourful! Also at the ages they are (they were 9 and 5 at the time), historic items aren't always very interesting which is fair enough.
Fun fact: It was named the Victorian Era when Queen Victoria became queen in 1837 and until she died in 1901, then it became the Edwardian Era, named after King Edward VII.
Eeek, Is That A Mouse?!
There was a section which showed old photographs of Oamaru and of the building we were standing in, which was originally a grain store that held 40,000 sacks of grain! We could kind of look around and imagine the place filled with grain sacks and horses trotting through with carts pulled behind them. There used to be 13 flour mills in the Waitaki Region and this grain store was one of the biggest in the region.
We found a bar area that tables and chairs (the perfect place for parents to sit while the kids played games... or the other way around), Victorian games including knucklebones which was one of my favourite games as a kid and a very out of tune piano (but who cares when you're a kid in a public place and you're allowed to play it!).
Beside the bar room was an agriculture area with lots of stories on the wall to read, plus some cool vegetable displays. There was also a box on the wall which was full of grains and a sign encouraged people to put their hands on to see what they could find.... Sienna found a few little mice, but don't worry, they weren't real ;)
The area we played in the most was in the school room where Lath was put into the naughty corner and had to wear a white hat with a giant D on it. Up on the wall were the school rules and punishments which we read out to the girls and told them they were so lucky they weren't in school back in those days! There were even finger stocks (to prevent fiddling) and back straighteners for us to play around with - I think I need one of those back straighteners, my posture is TERRIBLE!
We wandered around the rest of Whitestone City looking at the Victorian furniture, homeware and even wallpaper. We had such an awesome time here and we could have easily stayed for half a day playing games, especially seeing as it was a veeery cold day, however we had only a short time in Oamaru so we still had so much to explore in the town.
After Whitestone City, we went to Steampunk, took a photo in the giant frame on the foreshore, took the girls to the super unique playground and marveled at the incredibly beautiful Victorian architecture scattered throughout the town. Click here to read all about Oamaru and what to do with kids.
We found a bar area that tables and chairs (the perfect place for parents to sit while the kids played games... or the other way around), Victorian games including knucklebones which was one of my favourite games as a kid and a very out of tune piano (but who cares when you're a kid in a public place and you're allowed to play it!).
Beside the bar room was an agriculture area with lots of stories on the wall to read, plus some cool vegetable displays. There was also a box on the wall which was full of grains and a sign encouraged people to put their hands on to see what they could find.... Sienna found a few little mice, but don't worry, they weren't real ;)
The area we played in the most was in the school room where Lath was put into the naughty corner and had to wear a white hat with a giant D on it. Up on the wall were the school rules and punishments which we read out to the girls and told them they were so lucky they weren't in school back in those days! There were even finger stocks (to prevent fiddling) and back straighteners for us to play around with - I think I need one of those back straighteners, my posture is TERRIBLE!
We wandered around the rest of Whitestone City looking at the Victorian furniture, homeware and even wallpaper. We had such an awesome time here and we could have easily stayed for half a day playing games, especially seeing as it was a veeery cold day, however we had only a short time in Oamaru so we still had so much to explore in the town.
After Whitestone City, we went to Steampunk, took a photo in the giant frame on the foreshore, took the girls to the super unique playground and marveled at the incredibly beautiful Victorian architecture scattered throughout the town. Click here to read all about Oamaru and what to do with kids.
Know Before You Go
- Visiting Whitestone City is by donation and you pay at the end what you think your experience was worth
- It is all indoors so it's the perfect rainy day activity
- There is just soooo much here to play with and read about, it really is fun for the whole family
- Click here to find our more and to see the opening hours
How To Get To Whitestone City In Oamaru
Whitestone City is in the heart of the Victorian precinct, in on Harbour Street in Oamaru. Parking is available on the street and if there is none available then try another street over (as there is no designated parking area for Whitestone City). Click here for the location on Google Maps.
Conclusion
Whitestone City is a super cool hands-on museum where you can actually touch stuff and play around, getting a feel for Oamaru's Victorian vibe, without getting told off by a security guard. It's like stepping back in time and is a fun way to learn about Oamaru's Victorian era. We love all of the fun interactive things like Victorian toys and especially love riding the penny farthing carousel! We love how you pay what you think it's worth at the end and not up front, which makes it affordable for families and travellers who are on a budget.
Gallery of Whitestone City
Check out the rest of the awesomeness that didn't make it to the main blog but deserves to be shown.
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